By Elorm Yao Aryee
Management of Ho Teaching Hospital (Ho Teaching Hospital) in the Volta Region has intensified its sensitisation campaign to prevent the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the region. The aim is to create awareness and educate the public in the region on antimicrobial use and resistant germs, and to promote best practices among health workers, farmers, food vendors, veterinarians and others.
Management of the hospital, in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority, has instituted the “Take Back Unused Medicines” initiative as a measure to halt the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant germs in the Ho Municipality.
To achieve this, several bins have been placed at vantage points at the hospital where patients and the public are encouraged to safely dispose of leftover medicines.
At the launch of this year’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week at the hospital, the Chairperson of HTH’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, Pharm. Belinda Aku Atsunyo, stated that the goal is to improve surveillance and understanding among citizens in the region to protect lives.
“We are creating awareness about the antimicrobial resistance that is becoming a public health issue, and the one health approach in combating the menace. We also want to ensure that patients use prescribed antibiotics, to avoid misuse of such drugs”, she said.
Pharm. Aku Atsunyo noted that the committee’s team of health professionals has held training programmes for farmers and other groups in the region on antimicrobial resistance.
“This time around we brought on board the veterinary services, because there’s anti microbials in animals which are in our environment, we use them as a source of food, so that the probability of transmitting resistance from animals to man and vice versa is high. So our collaboration with the veterinary department this year is to create awareness among farmers in the whole municipality about antimicrobial resistance to help the curb menace”, she stated.
The committee has also organised workshops in some schools in the region to sensitise students on antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and their effects on human health and the economy.
An Associate Professor at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of the University of Ghana, Prof. Beverly Egyir, called for collaborations among stakeholders to combat the antimicrobial resistance menace to prevent its health challenges and huge economic cost.
“So when we say a germ is resistant to antibiotic, it means that the germ no longer responds to the commonly used antimicrobials. So what it means is that if that germs cause an infection, there will be limited drugs that can be used to treat that kind of infection,” she said. Prof. Egyir said, “this is a very serious situation because if, for example, you are sick with germs that cannot be treated, it means that you may have to spend more time at the hospital, and most of the time if the antibiotics or the drugs are not working, patients have to be treated with very expensive drugs, which are often the last treatment options”.
She urged health facilities to resource their laboratories to be able to detect germs that are resistant to a lot of antimicrobials, to ensure that patients are managed appropriately.
Prof. Egyir also entreated the public to wash their hands regularly and to keep their environments clean to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant germs.
The HTH Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee has collaborated with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Veterinary Services to undertake its antimicrobial resistance campaigns.
Representatives from the agencies pledged their support to ensure that the committee achieves its goals.
Antimicrobial resistance, according to the World Health Organisation, occurs when bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi become resistant to antimicrobial medicines that are used to treat the infections they cause.
As a result of antimicrobial resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections increasingly difficult – or even impossible – to treat.
The 2025 World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is themed, “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future.”
